Written by Tanya Terry, with Capitol Image by Tanjil Hasnat/Adobe Stock
The US government shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1, after multiple proposals- from both Republicans and Democrats -that would have funded the government -failed on Tuesday, September 30.
It makes the 21st shutdown since the 1977 fiscal year, with the longest shutdown lasting 35 days and occurring during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Prior to the most recent shutdown in 2025, Democrats were backing a spending bill that extended health subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, as well as reversed cuts to Medicaid. Affordable Care Act subsidies were set to expire at the end of the year.
Republicans were backing proposals that would have funded the government for seven weeks to November 21.
The parties could not come to an agreement, and each party blamed the other.
Social Security, VA benefits, Medicare payments and Medicaid payments will continue, but could face delays.
The WIC program (The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) may soon run out of money.
Additionally, federal jobs labeled as nonessential will be impacted, with an estimated 750,000 federal employees possibly being furloughed daily and potentially causing slowdowns in certain government services.
In order to overcome a filibuster, the Republican-controlled Senate needs support from Democrats to reach the 60 votes needed to do so.
It was still unclear how long the shutdown would last at publication time.
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